Guangdong, an economically developed province in south China, has planned to help the northwestern Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region establish a major cotton manufacturing base.

The base, located in Jiashi county of Xinjiang with an estimated area of 200 hectares, would be the largest in the region's south with abundant cotton resources after it is completed by the end of 2011, said a spokesman with the county government.

The construction was estimated to cost 650 million yuan (US$97 million), which would be funded by Guangxin Foreign Trade Group Co, Ltd and Guangzhou Suihua Clothing & Textiles Co, Ltd in Guangdong, as well as the county government of Jiashi.

With estimated annual revenues of 1.5 billion yuan, the base would create 3,500 new jobs in Jiashi, said the spokesman.

China's central government has been striving to help boost development in the far western Xinjiang region.

Under a "pairing assistance" program delivered by the central government at a high-level meeting in March, 19 provinces and cities are each required to help support the development of different areas in Xinjiang.

Guangdong, which boasts the county's largest cotton manufacturing base, mainly assists Jiashi and Shufu counties in Kashi prefecture.

(Xinhua News Agency October 5, 2010)